Fulcrum Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Fulcrum Capital LLC lessened its position in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,325 shares during the period. CME Group makes up about 2.6% of Fulcrum Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Fulcrum Capital LLC's holdings in CME Group were worth $11,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company's stock.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded down $8.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $282.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,745,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,188,928. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $270.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a PEG ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.45. CME Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.70 and a 12 month high of $290.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is 50.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Howard J. Siegel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,686,980. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 500 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.42, for a total value of $141,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,916.56. This represents a 12.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,900 shares of company stock worth $6,147,935 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CME. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CME Group from $265.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CME Group from $223.00 to $211.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CME Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $269.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.80.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.